CMJ 2008: Janelle Monae, global hip-hop and back at S.O.B.’s

Thursday night was one of my busiest nights of CMJ. Starting off with the Spectre meet and greet, I mixed it up with a handful of college radio DJs—Statik Selektah, Che Grand and Tanya Morgan—with a slew of DJs mixing, including DJ Babu. Afterward I quickly headed up to Fat Beats for an in-store with Blu to promote his new album with Mainframe, Johnson & Jonson. Blu was scheduled to show at 7—it was 7:30, and even with Shawn Jackson performing impromptu for the crowd I had to make a decision: wait it out for a possible no-show, or try to squeeze in an extra set somewhere else. I decided to go with a sure thing and take off.

Before heading over to DROM for the Global Hip-Hop Throwdown, I had to make a quick stop at Bowery Ballroom to check out Bad Boy records' most recent (and most promising) new artist, Janelle Monae. Monae has recently released Metropolis: The Chase Suite, her first in a series of three EPs. I had very limited experience with the record, having listened to it only a couple of times, but I had heard so many good things about her live show and I was excited to see something different. The crowd was energetic and ready when Monae made her entrance, dancing and singing along with every lyric. After two days of hip-hop shows with crowds of almost no interaction but a cadence or a head bob, it was refreshing to see an artist's energy transfer over to the crowd. I was on a tight timetable and was able to stick around for only a few songs, but I left greatly impressed with her stage presence and voice. This girl can sing, and is bringing something very different to not only her label, but also mainstream urban music.

Check out more from the night, and a video of Janelle Monae's performance.

Moving on, I continued my culturalization at the Global Hip-Hop throw down hosted by Pharoahe Monch. The show was scheduled to begin at 8, and when I arrived at 9, there was still no one on stage. I was getting antsy wanting to head over to S.O.B.'s to check out 88-Keys and the last minute addition of Charles Hamilton, but I stuck it out for a bit. At around 9:30, Blitz the Ambassador, originally from Ghana, took the stage with a live band to a crowd that seemed a little less hyped then Janelle Monae's. Still, with some motivation, and Homeboy Sandman in front grooving along with every song, the crowd eventually got into it. Performing and promoting his new album, Suicide Stereotype, Blitz told the crowd of his love for hip-hop and how that came from the radio. From hearing Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight," to other classics, he criticized the limited span of creativity on the radio today. After his set Pharoahe came back on stage and announced a 20-minute break between sets. I had to take off and go to S.O.B.'s.

When I arrived, I actually walked in behind Blitz and his band, who were scheduled to finish the night up at S.O.B.'s; apparently we had the same schedule. As I enered, 88-Keys was finishing up with his set, playing a couple track of his debut album, The Death of Adam. Having gone to his listening party a few weeks earlier, I was familiar with the material, and extremely hyped for the show. Eighty-eight had great energy and finished the set shouting out Wale and Kid Cudi, two more of my favorite artists, who were standing practically next to me. I barely noticed, too focused on the show. Host for the evening Amanda Diva (pictured left with 88-Keys) kept it moving from act to act, quickly ushering U-N-I on and off, with Charles Hamilton quickly following. After missing his performance at the Mixtape Awards, I was excited to see this up-and-coming artist take the stage. His set was almost as short as U-N-I’s, but Charles used his 15 minutes to the fullest, starting off with his biggest crossover appeal track, "Brooklyn Girl." Afterwards he spit through a couple more from his series of mixtapes and finished his set playing along on the keyboard with the stage band. A great way to end a busy night.